As Chelsea was tenaciously tied with two goals by Bolton, Tottenham, which had a draw with Aston Villa, was extremely lucky not to be taken advantage of by the Blues to close the gap and still maintain three points in the standings. leading advantage.
While George was deeply grateful for this situation, he couldn't help but secretly warn himself: He must not relax his vigilance and underestimate the enemy just because the team has been going smoothly in a short period of time. Otherwise, the ranking position they finally won will become the possession of other teams!
However, before using practical actions to consolidate Tottenham's leadership, George must first face the Champions League group match with Bayern Munich in midweek. Although Tottenham, which had won four of its previous four games, had qualified early from the group, George did not dare to be negligent in this game. You know, although Tottenham have now locked a qualifying spot, they are only three points ahead of Juventus, which ranks second in the group. This also means that if Tottenham can stay in the league in the last two rounds of the group stage, then the Bianconeri are likely to complete the counterattack and squeeze Tottenham into the second place in the group!
In most cases, the team that tops the group is more likely to encounter a relatively weak opponent in the quarter-finals. Therefore, if George and Tottenham want to go further in the Champions League, then they need to plan in advance now and get themselves a more favorable position before the knockout draw!
Moreover, unlike Juventus who know how to give up when things go well, Bayern Munich, who is accustomed to dominating Germany, faces Tottenham who are trying to retain their strength. It is difficult to say whether they will take care of their opponent's emotions and stop it instead of going all out. Expand the score and create a massacre at home to avenge the group stage round.
Facing the headstrong Magath and Bayern Munich, which has always regarded itself very highly, George did not dare to risk the team's morale and the club's reputation. Therefore, going all out in this game naturally becomes George's best choice!
On November 24, the entire Tottenham team flew to Munich, the capital of Bavaria and an important town in southern Germany, to prepare for the second round clash with Bayern in this season's Champions League group stage!
Compared with the round of meetings between the two teams, with many generals such as Sagnol and Claudio Pizarro returning from injury during this period, Bayern's lineup this time is obviously much more tidy: The goalkeeper is "The Lion" Kahn, the left back Salihamidzic, the center backs are Lucio and Robert Kovac, the right backs Sagnol, Hargreaves and Ballack partner as a double midfielder. Ze Roberto and Flins are on the left and right wings, and the front line is the combination of Roy Mackay and Claudio Pizarro!
Due to the injuries of Deisler and Sauer and the soft style of play, Magath, who advocates running and confrontation, was very unhappy. Frings, Ballack, and Bayern coach were 4- A loyal fan of the 4-2 formation, so in this key battle related to UEFA Cup qualification, Magath made an adjustment that was difficult for everyone to understand - he combined both Sauer and Deisler. He was placed on the bench and asked Frings to play as right midfielder!
As for Bastian Schweinsteiger, who was regarded as a star of hope by the German media, Magath simply looked down on this "little pig" whose skills were not as refined as those of Sauer and others, and his speed was not outstanding and it was difficult to open a breakthrough on the wing. As a result, "Little Pig" didn't even get a chance to enter the 18-man roster for the game this time, and could only sit in the stands and watch the performances of his teammates.
Looking at Tottenham again, due to the fact that most of the main players were rotated in the weekend match against Aston Villa, George also used all the main players today - Cech, Evra, Vidic, Ledley... King, Phil Neville, Mascherano, Xabi Alonso, Basturk, Robben, Ronaldo and Villa, this is Tottenham's eleven for this game!
Drogba and Stephen Karl were not included in the list mainly because they had accumulated three yellow cards and had to miss the game with Bayern according to regulations. Otherwise, it would be impossible for George to abandon Drogba, a strategic weapon, on such a critical occasion.
Of course, even if Drogba and Karl accumulate yellow cards and are suspended, Tottenham's strength will not be greatly affected - if Magath and Bayern players dare to underestimate Villa, then they will definitely get help from the Spaniard. Learned an unforgettable lesson!
However, Magath did not ignore Villa, and even explained various key points of defending Villa to Lucio and Robert Kovac before the game. This made Villa perform very actively on the court, but Huluwa's physical fitness was too different from Drogba's, and it was difficult to put enough defensive pressure on Lucio and Roberto Kovac. Coupled with the deliberate targeting of Lucio and Robert Kovac, it was difficult for Villa to take advantage of his advantages of running and grabbing points in front of the goal.
Tottenham were hindered on the offensive end, and Bayern was not much better - Frings's guest appearance as a right midfielder strengthened Bayern's midfielder's running ability and defensive hardness, but it also further weakened Bayern's side impact and all aspects of defense. There was not much creativity left, so although the home team attacked fiercely, they were still unable to tear apart Tottenham's defense.
In this way, when the game came to an end with Kim Nelson's two short and one long whistles, Bayern Munich, which was in desperate need of three points to stabilize its group ranking, ended up with a goalless draw with visiting Tottenham Hotspur at the Olympiastadion in Munich. The score is zero to zero and we shake hands to make a draw!
Although they only got one draw at the Olympic Stadium, Tottenham can be said to have returned home satisfied. This is because in another game that ended at the same time, Ajax, who was a guest at the Alpstadion, suddenly broke out after being one goal behind at the beginning. Suarez, Van der Vaart, and Sneijder each scored a goal. Led Ajax to a 3-2 victory and won their first victory in the Champions League this season!
The Bianconeri suffered a comeback at home against Ajax. As a result, with only one round left in the group stage, Tottenham is already four points ahead of second place Juventus! This also means that Tottenham locked BSP one round in advance; in sharp contrast to Tottenham, Bayern Munich was a little tearful at this time. Because they only had one win, one draw, three losses and four points in five games, after Ajax's upset victory over Juventus in this round, they have been successfully closed by the Dutch giant. As of now, the two teams are only one point apart in the standings!
In other words, if Bayern loses to Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena in the final game of the group, then they will only have the Bundesliga and German Cup championships left to compete for this season!
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